Vegetable protein processing

Success in food processing operations requires a delicate balance between premium appearance, taste, texture and traceable quality on the one hand, and consistently low costs on the other. We provide our customers with exceptional capabilities in technologies essential for production-critical processes such as mixing, separation, heat treatment and cleaning. Partnering up with Alfa Laval ensures the best possible results across the whole spectrum of prepared foods.

Growing interest

Proteins in general are the most valuable nutrient in food. Awareness of how these proteins can open up a wide range of new market opportunities, is growing steadily.

There is also a growing commercial focus on how to turn material often previously considered waste – or only suitable as feedstuffs – into high-value nutritional components in a substantial range of food products, ingredients, pharmaceuticals and animal feeds.

Pick of the crops

Proteinaceous plants can also provide the necessary raw material. These include soybeans and varieties of pea and other legumes.

With the appropriate equipment, many other widely cultivated feed crops and low-management grasses, such as lucerne, can also be used as commercially viable sources of edible protein.

Concentrated or not

Alfa Laval equipment gives you a choice of processing set-ups. Post-separation flows with a lower protein content can be dried, providing pellets either for incineration or use in bakeries.

Alternatively, you can process the post-separation flow of proteins and carbohydrates still further using advanced membrane filtration systems to produce high-value protein and carbohydrate concentrates.